Resetting devices for steering-column switches—so-called turn indicator resetting means—already fall within the prior art. For example, document U.S. Pat. No. 6,186,022 B1 describes a resetting device of said type which has a triggering element in the form of a tongue or a finger which, as the steering wheel rotates, is driven along and then effects the resetting of the steering-column switch or of the actuating lever into its initial position. Here, said triggering element is on the one hand mounted so as to be pivotable; on the other hand, said triggering element is also mounted so as to be displaceable, specifically in a sliding direction, in which the triggering element is also arranged under the preload of a spring element. When the triggering element is driven along as the steering wheel rotates, the triggering element pushes the steering-column switch back into its initial position.
A resetting device for a steering-column switch is also known from document DE 694 14 867 T2.
A generic resetting device is also disclosed in DE 44 18 328 A1. Said resetting device additionally has a switch override protection means which, in a switch override situation—when the vehicle driver exerts a force on the steering-column switch as the steering wheel rotates back toward a centre position—permits a movement of the triggering element relative to the actuating lever and thus prevents destruction of the triggering element. Said switch override protection means generally comprises a switch override spring which deflects under the action of a certain force and thus prevents destruction of the resetting unit.
It is considered to be a disadvantage of the prior art that, owing to the arrangement of the switch override spring, the resetting device as a whole cannot be realized in a particularly compact design. A further disadvantage is that, owing to the multiplicity of components, the mechanical tolerances can be compensated only with relatively great outlay.